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[indent][indent][indent][color=gray][sub][right][color=#dc143c][b]Location:[/b][/color] The Dungeon -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria[/right][/sub][/color]
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Graves didn't get up. He felt a hand grasp his shoulder and gentle words reach his ears but he couldn't hear them. The ringing was all there was. A loud, constant screeching, accompanied by a blood-pounding headache. His eyes snapped shut. It was quiet here. Dark. A place he'd often visit when he needed a moment of reprieve. Andrew was usually alone in this place.

Not this time.

[color=dc143c][i]'We're goin to die, aren't we?'[/i][/color]

Probably. Dungeons like this one were meant to challenge top tier players. It wasn't strange for a group to wipe several times trying to complete one. Only this time they wouldn't get up, he supposed.

[color=dc143c][i]'Doesn't that scare you?'[/i][/color]

No shit! Andrew'd have to be certifiably nuts to not be frightened by a thing like that. It was only human, after all. Still, it was something he'd thought long and hard about for a long time, even before today: what'd it be like to die? He wasn't much of a religious person anymore. Odds were the only thing waiting for him was the void. [i]That[/i] was a bit scary, he had to admit. Nothingness wasn't a concept he could wrap his head around.

[color=dc143c][i]'Its too soon. We're s'posed to have the rest of our lives head of us...'[/i][/color]

Not much of a life worth living for, Andrew laughed. It was a scornful, hateful little sound. He'd had two short decades on this earth and what'd he waste them on? Shuffling through every day like a zombie? Playing games when other people were actually, y'know, succeeding in life? He'd gotten good at this last one. He was proud of that-- proud of this fake life he'd built for himself. It was more effort than he'd ever put into the other one.

[color=dc143c][i]'You never gave yourself the chance to, you fuckin' idiot. And now its gone!'[/i][/color]

Maybe so. There were other around him, though- others who had actually used the time they'd been allotted. Alja must've had people that loved her waiting back home. Kalie wanted to be a teacher. Wasn't that something! How many lives would she go on to impact for the better if she got out of here? We have a chance to do some good here. A [b]real[/b] chance. All that work you put into swinging a fake sword around and now you might be able to do something with it. 

[color=dc143c][i]'...'[/i][/color]

You're better at this than any of them, aren't you?

[color=dc143c][i]'Yeah.'[/i][/color]

I didn't save up every penny I'd ever earned on a scalped video game so you can throw this one, solitary opportunity to not be a complete fuck-up away. So get up. Get up and kick some ass for me before you turn my brain to mush.

And with that Graves turned away, walking out of the dark and back into the humid corridor in the middle of a dungeon. His eyes slipped open. He could feel his heartrate slowing back to normal. The ringing in his ears faded into dull background noise. The headache lingered; that one was manageable, at least. He stood up, looking to the people around him- actually taking the time to [i]see[/i] them.

To see them scared outta their minds See them being brave for the others around them. See them setting aside their differences to help however they could. See them taking charge, or offering up supplies, or even just giving words of encouragement when they had nothing else to offer.

They were a motley group of weirdos who never should've had to go through this.

Graves took a breath. [color=dc143c]"Don't fuck it up."[/color]

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